How I Failed Before I Even Started

| Danielle Geva

This week’s post is a little personal, but it’s always best to learn from the mistakes of others.

In one of my first entrepreneurship courses, we were instructed to come up with unique business ideas, which were then harshly evaluated by our Teaching Assistant.

I had a couple hits and a couple of misses, but it didn’t really matter since I wasn’t invested in those ideas, I was saving the best for last. The specifics of my vision don’t matter, and since I didn’t pay much attention to grades, the F didn’t hurt. The thing that did bother me was the comment claiming my idea was ‘impossible to execute’. Continue reading →

There’s Nothing Wrong with Being a Follower

| Danielle Geva

The video ‘First Follower: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy’ has been making the rounds, and basically shows that there’s nothing wrong with being a follower. Derek Sivers observes that the first follower is as crucial to the movement as leaders themselves. Derek provides viewers with great insight, and as an early adopter I’ve encountered the same situation in startups. I hope you always find that first follower for your ideas, as crazy as they may seem.

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Lessons from the Greats

| Danielle Geva

Looking for entrepreneurship information, advice, and tips? Look no further. Under30CEO prepared a list of 20 Blogs and Twitter Accounts Every Entrepreneur Should Follow. These experts have been through it all, and are sharing the valuable lessons they have learnt along the way.  Continue reading →

Trello Use Case Suggestions

| Danielle Geva

To Do, Doing, Done (can choose to use the default)

  1. Ideas, Research, Formulate, Pitch, Execute (can vote on which ideas will actually be executed)
  2. Titles, Research, First Draft, Editing, Final, Published, Promoted (can add a check list with each proofreading element)
  3. Recipes, Making, Revise, Keep (can add pictures of final outcome)
  4. Buy, Coupons, Deals, Sales (can add expiry dates in the notes)
  5. Read, Reading, Share (can add hyperlinks to each article)
  6. Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Annually (boards don’t have a to be a process)
  7. Call, Text, Email, SM (can upload a file with the contact info)
  8. Monitor, Responding, Report (can assign individuals to a task)
  9. Startups, Researching, Tried, Recommend (can archive cards once you are done with them)
  10. Upcoming Events, RSVP’d, Attended, Follow Up (can colour coordinate according to importance)

Got an idea for a Trello use case? (can start as many new boards, lists, and cards as needed)

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Superior Customer Service at Every Level

| Danielle Geva

Regardless of company size, it is crucial to remember that you exist to serve your customers.

In startups, team members might think it is understood that customers should be treated with respect; unfortunately, this is not always common sense. Those who are not directly involved in sales & marketing might be careless when responding to customer emails. These individuals excuse their behavior by stating that customer support is not their specialty. However, friendly and polite communication should be explicitly required across the board, especially in small startup teams where the roles might be fluid.

Continue reading →